


Christmas in March

by Zelda2h2



Series: Five Clicks Out [1]
Category: Captain America (Movies), The Avengers (Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Cute, F/M, Fluff, Gift Giving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-24
Updated: 2015-08-21
Packaged: 2018-04-11 01:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,049
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4415657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zelda2h2/pseuds/Zelda2h2
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and excused himself to answer the call. "What's up, Buck?"</p>
<p>"I need to get her something."</p>
<p>"I don't think she gave it to you so you could get her something back."</p>
<p>"I need to get her something." Bucky repeated, then asked in a quieter tone. "What should I get?"</p>
<p>Steve smiled. "I dunno. Good luck."</p>
<p>-----</p>
<p>Darcy, despite her cheapskate nature, loves to give gifts. A cute little fic that happens in the same 'universe' as Five Clicks Out</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Darcy

Darcy, by nature, was cheap. Her years as a student had moulded her into a penny pincher that would buy seven cheap coffees to save up enough stickers for one free ultra caramel supreme, and had managed to sneak her laundry in with other peoples machines for two and a half months before the laundromat got wise to her shenanigans. 

Of course she was also very big on giving gifts, so those two aspects of her personality tended to clash. 

The mugs, she decided, were her best investment since her degree. 

She was just scrolling through her Tumblr when she found the website advertising personalized coffee mugs. Darcy would be damned if she didn't get each of the Avengers their very own. 

\---

"Anyone know what this is about?" Natasha asked as she entered the kitchen that was just off the common room with Clint. 

"Darcy said it was important." Steve shrugged. 

"And it is, my patriotic friend!" Darcy huffed under the weight of a large cardboard box marked 'fragile' in her arms. Sam, who stood the closest, was quick to take the load from her hands and put them on the counter. 

"Alright children, get ready for Christmas in July-" Darcy started pulling bundles out of the box and unwrapping them. 

"Even though it's March."

"Hush Tony. I found a place that does personalized mugs. So when I read them off you've gotta guess which ones yours. Sound good?"

Various sounds of approval were made, which had Darcy grinning. "Good. They're kinda obvious, try to be tolerant. I made them all up so try and pretend to be excited. 'Don't talk to me before I've had my super soldier serum?'"

Steve looked around for a moment before taking the mug with a smile. "Thank you."

"'I ripped my pants.'" Tony barked out a laugh as Bruce stepped forward to take that one. 

"'Don't.'" Natasha smiled at hers. 

"'Aw, [object] no.'" 

"Clint." A chorus of voices echoed in the kitchen. 

'"Nice set of parabolas'- okay everyone knows it's Tony's. 'Somewhere over the Bifrost.'" Darcy grinned when both Thor and Jane made a grab for the cup. "Sorry Jane, this one goes to the tall blonde space god. 'Somewhere over the Einstein-Rosen Bridge' is for you."

'Ain't no wingspan wide enough' went to Sam. 'Ask me about the tank' went to Rhodey. Pietro's read 'My dyejob is bad: my attitude's worse' and Wanda's 'The Wickedest Witch'. 

"And last but not least- hey, where's Bucky?" Darcy furrowed her eyebrows, looking at Steve. 

"I think he's in his room." He answered, looking puzzled. 

"I called everyone..." She muttered, starting to walk down the hall, a chorus of thanks behind her. 

Darcy knocked on Bucky's door and heard a shuffling inside. "Hey, Barnes? You home?"

The shuffling stopped. 

"I don't know if you got my message, but I got everyone a little something today. And you're not exempt from my gifts." Still nothing, Darcy sighed. "It's a coffee mug. It's black, one side says 'Stabbing is just chest based metal contribution' and the other side says 'Shooting is just a 9mm face present' I couldn't decide which one I liked better so I just got both-"

The door opened slightly, Darcy could see Bucky peering from behind it. "You...got me something? Why?"

"It's not poisoned or rigged to explode." Darcy blurted. "I got one for everyone, it was a dumb idea I guess-"

"Can I see it?" 

Blushing, Darcy held up the mug like an offering, rotating her hands so he could see both sides. "You don't have to take it if you don't want it."

The door opened a bit more, and she had to force her eyes up when she saw him in a tank too and sinfully low hanging sweatpants, hair hanging in his eyes... Oh holy Thor. 

"But why me?"

"Well shit dude." Darcy grinned. "We've had hot chocolate together more than three times now- in my family that pretty much equates to common law marriage. Not really- point is you can't borrow my sheep mug forever."

Bucky gingerly picked up the mug with the non-robot hand and inspected it carefully. "Thanks... Lewis."

She beamed at that- the first time he used her name. "No sweat Barnes. You busy at all tonight?"

"I don't...no." He had started to close the door a bit. 

"Well, I'll be watching movies in the common room. If you wanna join me I'll be there all night." She shoved her hands in her sweater pockets. "There will most likely be bad singing involved, so if anything I'll warn you of that."

Bucky said nothing at that, instead leaving her with a stiff nod before closing the door. 

Darcy made her way back into the kitchen where the group still stood, apparently waiting for coffee pots to brew and kettles to boil. 

"Hey Darce?" Jane called from her place on the countertop. "Thanks again."

"Yeah, it was really sweet of you." Sam raised his mug in appreciation. 

Steve walked over to her, standing between her and the island. "How was he?"

"He took it, that's something." She shrugged. "I invited him to watch bad musicals with me tonight- also that's a heads up for you to invest in earplugs."

"Don't you have a tv in your wing of the building?" Steve asked with a playful grin. 

"Bruh. You've got the intense surround sound three-D curved screen that is optimal for watching David Bowie in a sparkly cape." Darcy nudged his ribs before adding in a much quieter tone; "Besides. If he has a bad night, I wanna be there for him. I'm a mother hen."

"Maybe." He nudged her back. "He's only tried to kill you once so that's probably a good thing."

"Twice. There was an incident where he thought my scrambled eggs had traces of arsenic."

"You're not that bad of a cook."

"Funny." Darcy gave him a glare. "You watch yourself Cap. My taser isn't just reserved for thunder gods and creeps on the street."

Steve felt his phone vibrate in his pocket and excused himself to answer the call. "What's up, Buck?"

"I need to get her something."

"I don't think she gave it to you so you could get her something back."

"I need to get her something." Bucky repeated, then asked in a quieter tone. "What should I get?"

Steve smiled. "I dunno. Good luck."


	2. A Reciprocative Guesture

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Try and make it personal." Steve told him. "She put some thought into these, so try and do the same."
> 
> Research proved futile: while the suggestion of chocolates seemed plausible, it seemed unbalanced in terms of value. He didn't know if she was the type for flowers. Lingerie... even the asset knew that was out of the question for their current status. 
> 
> So he asked Thor.

Bucky, in his current state of affairs, wasn't a very sociable person. Anyone he once was had been lost to the thing he'd become. 

The asset didn't know camaraderie. The asset didn't interact with people beyond its marks. And the asset sure as hell didn't know how to handle a gift. 

He knew who Darcy Lewis was. Knew she wasn't a threat to his personal safety, and that she dealt with people. He never really considered himself a person. No matter what Steve said. 

But still she invited him to watch movies and drink hot beverages- each time she opened a new container of cocoa mix so he knew it hadn't been tampered with. Her gift was still a surprise though, and there was a part of him that wanted to reciprocate the gesture. 

But what to get her?

She loved music and movies. But almost anything was available on the internet for free. Steve was no help- taking some kind of pleasure in watching Bucky squirm, trying to find an idea. 

"Try and make it personal." Steve told him as they each drank coffee out of their new mugs. "She put some thought into these, so try and do the same."

Research proved futile: while the suggestion of chocolates seemed plausible, it seemed unbalanced in terms of value. He didn't know if she was the type for flowers. Lingerie... even the asset knew that was out of the question for their current status. 

So he asked Thor. 

Bucky once saw a picture of himself and Steve before the war, when he was taller. Post-serum Steve had a height advantage, but the god of Thunder easily dwarfed them both. It was mildly horrifying at times. 

"James, good morrow." Thor strode into the common room, placing his hammer on the table. 

Bucky looked at the tool wearily, having been pinned down by it more than once when sparring. He grunted in response, watching as Thor sat in the chair across from him. 

"Steven said you requested me."

He nodded. "I...I wanna get Lewis something."

Thor raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid I'm not well versed in Midgardian courtship-"

"No not-" Bucky looked over his shoulder, lowering his voice. "It's not like that. I just wanna get 'er somethin' to say thanks. She's... she looks after me."

"She speaks of you often. She tells Jane many a tale of her time spent with the Soviet Butthead." 

"Sov-? Nevermind. You know what she likes, right?"

"I'm sorry my friend. I do know Darcy well, but I'm not sure how to help you." Thor furrowed his brow. "While she is a lover of many material things, she is also a great warrior. Perhaps there is where your solution lies."

"Warrior?" Bucky raised an eyebrow. "The likelihood that she poses a physical threat is less than-"

"She has beaten me." Thor smiled fondly. "Well, first Jane ran me down. And Darcy felt as though I was a threat; so she harnessed the lightning in her weapon and rendered me unconscious."

Bucky remembered that story. "It shouldn't really count." Darcy had said. "He was technically all mortal and stuff. But man did he drop quick- one little taze, that's all it took."

"I wish you luck on your venture, my friend." Thor stood and took his hammer from the table, leaving with a friendly pat on the shoulder. 

"Hn." Bucky grunted in response, wasting no time in taking out the tablet in front of him and working on a template. 

She was gonna love it. 

\---

"Can you build this?" 

Tony gave Bucky a scoff, not looking up from the engine block in front of him. "Please, come in. Make yourself at home. Don't let any locked doors hinder you."

"Door was open. Can you build this?"

Tony took off his work goggles to look at the digital blueprints Bucky held in front of him. "Did you design this? Why not just order one?"

"Three week waiting period. You can do it faster."

"Who says I will?" Tony crossed his arms. "I thought Cap said no to giving you new toys."

"Not for me." Bucky zoomed in where a name was engraved on the handle of the weapon. 

"Aw. And here I though the Nazi's forgot to give you a heart." 

"Can you build it?" Bucky repeated in a more pressed tone. 

"For Darcy? You got it."

\---

He thought about leaving the box where she could find it, but he got too jittery. Bucky also refused to acknowledge the fact that he wanted to see her open it. 

And so he found himself checking his reflection in the mirrored walls of the elevator on his way up to Darcy's room. He had tried to clean up- his stubble wasn't so thick since he'd shaved two days prior when Stark first gave him the finished product. Bucky had his hair tied back, borrowed a blue Henley from Steve as well as a clean pair of jeans that mostly covered his scuffed up boots. 

The ding that the elevator made as it's doors opened was horrifying. It meant Bucky only had a few steps down a hallways until he would be knocking on Darcy's door. 

With the purple box tucked under his arm, Bucky raised a cautious hand and knocked. The sound was harsh- similar to a police officer announcing their presence. 

"Just a second!" Darcy called from within. Her voice sounded thick, not as though she was sleeping, but as though she was crying. When she opened the door and her eyes were rimmed red and watery, that suspicion was confirmed. 

"Oh. Hey there Barnes. Whassap?" Darcy smiled brightly at him. 

She was dressed in pink plaid pyjama pants and a grey sweatshirt that had a picture of a blue heeled shoe and read "A Dream Is a Wish Your Heart Makes". 

"Damn- you're all cleaned up and I look like shite." Darcy laughed, stepping aside. "Come on in."

Bucky stepped inside cautiously. Directly in his line of vision was the paused image of a man reaching out to something in the distance- illuminated by a green light. "You're crying."

"Yeah- Gatsby always gets to me." She opened a mini fridge disguised as an amplifier and brandished two bottles of beer. "Want one? It's light beer, but I splurged and got a six pack of Corona which is weird for me but I just re-watched the Fast and Furious movies so I'm feeling a little Dom Toretto right now."

Bucky had no idea what that meant, but shook his head at the beer, and brandished the gift. "I- this is um, here."

Darcy put down her bottles and took the gift, looking at it suspiciously. "It's not rigged to explode glitter everywhere, is it?"

"No. Why would it do that?"

"You clearly haven't been around Clint Barton enough." She smirked, tearing the paper carefully, lifting the tape at the corners that had been done so poorly because even in his former life, Bucky couldn't wrap gifts. 

Darcy gasped quietly when she picked the taser up out of it's box, letting the cardboard drop to the floor. He watched her run her fingers over the smooth onyx surface of the handle where her initials were scrolled elegantly. It was on the smaller side, discreet, and fit nicely in her hand. 

"It's uh, it's got different settings." Bucky could feel himself getting ready to ramble. "Low, medium and um, Thor. There's a panic button just under your thumb there with a GPS that gets activated when you press it. It's good for five low range shots, three medium range and one- Oof!"

Bucky didn't stumble back when Darcy threw herself on top of him, but her sudden weight knocked the breath out of him. Her arms squeezing his ribs didn't help, either. 

"You uh, you like it?"

"I love it. It's beautiful." Darcy said into his shoulder. "But why are you getting me prezzies? I don't think it's my birthday, definitely not Hanukkah..."

"Hn." Bucky stayed stiff, looking over her head at the wall. "Just...returning the favour."

"Hm? Oh. Oh! The mug! Aw, Barnes. You didn't have to get me something."

"You didn't have to get me something."

"I got everyone something."

"Not yourself. Now you have something too."

"Are you kidding me?" Darcy released him and held her new taser over her head, shouting; "I have the superior gift! All other gift recipients must bow down before me!"

"I wouldn't know about superior." Bucky chuckled. 

"Are you kidding? The only thing this baby doesn't do is get me off- wait." She studied the taser closely. "Will it? I see that Tony made it so I'm gonna assume it leads a double existence as a sex toy."

"Wouldn't advise that. Unless getting electrocuted makes you come." Did he just say that? Bucky just said that. 

Instead of looking offended, Darcy just smirked. "I think that's more Jane's thing- a little too sparky, even for me."

He held her gaze for a moment before looking down at the floor. "I should go."

"Hot date tonight?" Darcy laughed, bending down to pick up the box she'd dropped. 

"No." 

"Well you're all dressed to the nines- I think I've only ever seen you in sweats."

"Just trying to look presentable." Bucky shoved his hands in his pockets and cringed when he heard the inside pocket tear. Darcy raised a hand to her mouth to stop herself from laughing. 

"Did you just rip something?"

Pulling out the left pocket, Bucky frowned at the hole he'd made. Darcy held up her finger in a 'wait here' motion and scooted down the hall. She returned a moment later with an unopened set of thread and sewing needles. 

"Ma sent this over in a care package. Never tried sewing before." She tore tore off the plastic wrap, found a colour of thread that was the closest match to his pants and started to work. 

She stabbed herself twice before giving up. 

Wordlessly, Bucky took the needle from her and looped a few stitches until the hole was sewn shut again. Darcy cut the thread with a small pair of scissors and raised an eyebrow at him. 

"Army." Bucky shrugged. "Used to make us carry around kits in case our uniforms got damaged."

"Huh." She made an impressed face. "Not bad, Barnes. You're just full of surprises."

Darcy looked over her shoulder at the tv, and then back at Bucky. "So, no plans tonight?"

"No."

"Good. Cause you never showed up to my last movie watching escapade so I took it as a silent rain check which I am currently cashing in." Darcy bent down in front of her stack of movies and started pulling titles. "No soppy movies... I'm thinking it's an Indy night. Ever seen Raiders?"

"I've seen people raiding-"

"No like the movie- I'm gonna take that as a no. Original Indiana Jones trilogy it is. If you make it through those we'll pop in Crystal Skull."

"I have no idea what that means."

Darcy stood and stretched her arms over her head- a movie case or two in each hand. "I know. Baby steps, Barnes."

They left her apartment- her new taser clipped onto her bra strap. As they made their way down the hall, Darcy stopped suddenly to hug him again. 

"Just wanted to say thanks again. It means a lot that you thought of me."

Still on the stoic side, Bucky slowly raised his right arm to wrap around her lightly. "Same here, Lewis."

They made it to the elevator before Bucky pulled his arm off of Darcy's back. 

"Oh! Almost forgot!" Darcy exclaimed. "How do you feel about snakes?"

"Fine. Still less terrifying than you." He deadpanned, looking straight ahead. But Darcy swore she could see a smile somewhere on that face. 

And she smiled coyly, tipping her chin up proudly. "Damn straight."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now, I know it seems weird for Darcy to have watched the Fast and Furious movies- but I always imagine her to be kind of a connoisseur of films, giving almost anything a shot.


End file.
